Canada wildfires causing hazy conditions at the Jersey Shore
Those with respiratory issues are asked to stay indoors and limit your time outside.
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If it smells like a campfire in your home or outside, it could be from smoke coming from the Canadian Maritimes.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued an air quality alert for the state on Wednesday due to the wildfires in Nova Scotia. A combination of smoke and fog has led to hazy conditions. The intense smoke and haze along the beach are coming onshore all the way from Nova Scotia about 700 miles away.
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Dr. Eric Costanzo, a pulmonary expert at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, says the problem with smoke from wildfires is that the particulate matter can get deep inside your lungs.
Costanzo says watery eyes and postnasal drip is a sign there is a lot of that matter in the air. Combining the smoke with the ongoing allergy season makes the air quality worse. Vulnerable people with asthma or emphysema should stay inside if possible.
“It's like the perfect storm of respiratory illness. You're going to have upper respiratory symptoms from the smoke, from all the pollen. You don't have to just look at your car, you can see how much pollen is out there. Couple that with smoke particulate matter from the fire, it's definitely something where you want to limit your time outside,” Costanzo said.
The most concentrated smoke and particulates are over most of the state on Wednesday. This will shift heading into the afternoon. The smoke will eventually start to thin out heading into Wednesday night and into Thursday.
The fires in Canada have forced more than 16,000 people to leave their homes, and around 200 buildings are destroyed. As of Tuesday afternoon, 13 fires were burning across the province. Several of them are still out of control. The fires have burned more than 25,000 acres so far.
The air quality alert remains in effect until midnight for all of New Jersey.
